Writing on the Wall: Social Media: The First 2,000 Years

Written by Tom Standage

Narrated by Simon Vance

Papyrus rolls and Twitter have much in common, as each was their generation's signature means of "instant" communication. Indeed, as Tom Standage reveals in his scintillating new book, social media is anything but a new phenomenon.

From the papyrus letters that Roman statesmen used to exchange news across the Empire to the advent of hand-printed tracts of the Reformation to the pamphlets that spread propaganda during the American and French revolutions, Standage chronicles the increasingly sophisticated ways people shared information with each other, spontaneously and organically, down the centuries. With the rise of newspapers in the nineteenth century, then radio and television, "mass media" consolidated control of information in the hands of a few moguls. However, the Internet has brought information sharing full circle, and the spreading of news along social networks has reemerged in powerful new ways.

A fresh, provocative exploration of social media over two millennia, Writing on the Wall reminds us how modern behavior echoes that of prior centuries—the Catholic Church, for example, faced similar dilemmas in deciding whether or how to respond to Martin Luther's attacks in the early sixteenth century to those that large institutions confront today in responding to public criticism on the Internet. Invoking the likes of Thomas Paine and Vinton Cerf, coinventor of the Internet, Standage explores themes that have long been debated: the tension between freedom of expression and censorship; whether social media trivializes, coarsens, or enhances public discourse; and its role in spurring innovation, enabling self-promotion, and fomenting revolution. As engaging as it is visionary, Writing on the Wall draws on history to cast new light on today's social media and encourages debate and discussion about how we'll communicate in the future.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Oct 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781452683331

Tom Standage

Tom Standage is deputy editor of the Economist and the author of six previous history books, including Writing on the Wall, the New York Times bestsellers A History of the World in 6 Glasses and An Edible History of Humanity, and The Victorian Internet, a history of the telegraph. His writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, Wired, and other publications. Standage holds a degree in engineering and computer science from Oxford University. He lives in London. @TomStandage

Reviews for Writing on the Wall

[Amr El Essawi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting history of human communication.
Reveals many areas of human nature.

[Marc Wallace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I genuinely loved the first 8-9 chapters of the book. I wasn't so much interested in the modern 20th-21st century history that he talked about in regards to the development to the internet. however, that is just a personal take, not a critical assessment of the work he did. Also, some of the chapters can be quite long, up to an hour. However, if you read or listened to his: The History of the World in 6 Glasses, then you would like this book as well.